This invention relates to an apparatus for cataloging and retrieving image data obtained from original scannable documents (hereinafter simply referred to as originals) such as printed sheets of paper and drawings which have been converted into image signals.
Electronic files are becoming available as a practical device for managing documents and drawings which are now produced in large quantities. When originals such as documents are cataloged in an electronic file, they are converted into image data (hereinafter also referred to as primary data) and search data (hereinafter also referred to as secondary data) are attached to them for use when the primary data are retrieved. There are many situations, however, wherein secondary data alone cannot effectively identify the desired primary data and the primary data must be displaced eventually to enable the user to decide which data are being desired. Since the display of primary data takes several seconds, the procedure is time-consuming and cumbersome.